Biodiesel Fuels

Update: Under the 2008 ASTM D 6751 and BQ-9000 accreditation standards, manufacturers of diesel engines can finally allow end users to use 100% biodiesel without voiding the warranty, because the quality of the fuel can be assured. ASTM D 6571 is the ASTM standard for biodiesel; while BQ-9000 includes standards for quality processes, sampling and testing, shipping, etc. This is a major step forward. However, some emissions control systems cannot tolerate biodiesel, so make sure you check out the system you have before putting anything into your tank.

Neither Allpar, its affiliates, nor Robert W. (Bob) Sheaves
accept any responsibility for the use of any information contained in
this article. This information is supplied for educational purposes
only. Readers are advised to seek competent assistance BEFORE
attempting to utilize this information in any way.

Bob Sheaves wrote:

Rudolf Diesel experimented
with many different types of fuel to feed the compression-ignition engine he’d invented. From coal dust to hemp oil, many products were tried
and failed — too costly, too hard to process, not
enough heat to sustain combustion.
Liquid whale oil and vegetable oils seemed to
provide the best solution, but whale oil was expensive, and he was just about out of money.

Turning to his farmer friends (most of whom laughed at his engine), he
tried to find an alternative. According to legend, one
of these friends grew peanuts and had a stock that had gone rancid;
even livestock would not eat them. Diesel obtained several cart loads
and used an olive press to obtain the yellow oil contained in the nuts.

The Paris World Exposition was coming and time was running out
for Diesel. The prototype engine, along with several hundred gallons of
peanut oil, was shipped to Paris, installed, and flabbergasted the crowds. Many people commented they wandered
into the area displaying Diesel's engine running because they thought
it was a food pavilion (due to the smell of burned peanut oil).

When petroleum oil was discovered in Pennsylvania a few years later,
Diesel's engine had progressed far enough to utilize this new sort of
waste fuel from lubricating oils and save the peanuts for feed.

Fast forward to the 1930s in Detroit.....

Detroit
Diesel Corporation, of Redford (Metro Detroit), Michigan, manufactured
engines for America's fledgling trucking industry. In 1936, the 2
stroke, blower-scavenged diesel was introduced to the world. For the
first time, a high speed (1800RPM), lightweight (wet weight
approximately 1100 lbs for the inline 4 cylinder version), high
horsepower (127hp) powerplant was available to make the trucking of
products to their destination competitive with rail transport.

No longer did manufacturers of goods have to be situated in congested
rail head locations of Chicago, Detroit, Trenton, Oklahoma City, etc.
They could move to the low income areas of the US, employ these lower
cost farmers and further reduce their costs to manufacture their goods.

The success of Detroit Diesel spawned Cummins Engine Company,
International Harvester, Caterpillar, and others to start making these
high profit engines to power industry.

Fast forward again, to 1985, Moscow, Idaho.....

At the University of Idaho, Moscow agricultural researchers
started the first in a series of projects; years later they made their first major
demonstration to the US Department of Energy with a 1994 Chrysler
Corporation-supplied Dodge Ram 3/4 ton pickup- powered by a Cummins
5.9L 6BTA engine. They found that gas and particulate emissions could
be reduced with vegetable oil based fuels, which have little sulfur
(which leads to acid rain), and, because they are biodegradable, are
much safer in case of a spill.

Information from "On Road Testing of Biodiesel-A report of past research activities," University of Idaho

Production of biodiesel, according to the University of Idaho
report, is very efficient, with 4.2 BTUs of liquid gained for each BTU
used in production and processing. They also found that, if "farmers
were allowed to grow rapeseed as an energy crop on set-aside or CRP
acreage, BIODIESEL would be used in agriculture. If the environmental
advantages were fully understood, BIODIESEL would become the fuel of
choice, even at a higher price, for many environmentally sensitive or
pollutant-prone areas." (Rapeseed is a winter annual producing about
2,000 pounds of seed per acre - yielding about 100 gallons of oil for
fuel, and 1,200 pounds of meal).

The Idaho report noted that transesterification (using an alchohol
in the presence of a catalyst to chemically break the molecules) is
needed before the rapeseed oil can be used in ordinary diesel engines.
The Univeristy of Idaho used a 200-gallon batch reactor to produce
methyl and ethyl esters from rapeseed oil.

The University of Idaho (hence referred to as UI) used four diesel
pickups, including a 1992 Dodge, 1994 Dodge, and 1995 Dodge Ram pickup
with intercooled, turbocharged direct injected diesels, each fueled
with different ratios of methyl ester or ethyl ester extracted from
rapeseed oil (RME and REE, respecitvely) and standard diesel fuel. The
1994 and 1995 Dodge Ram pickup trucks used 100% REE. The Cummins
engines and fuel systems in the Dodge trucks were not modified, though
the fuel delivery systems in the 1992 Dodge and a Ford
pickup running mixtures of RME and standard diesel fuel were modified
to allow for onboard mixing of fuel. The goal (completed in 1998) was
to operate each vehicle about 25,000 miles per year, to test them
through 100,000 miles.

Dyno testing

In 1994, the UI and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit
Authority tested the 1994 Dodge on the dyno, collecting data for all
regulated emissions. Results were published but no longer appear to be available.

Emissions

As with any engine and fuel combination, there are going to be issues
of where NOx is formed and how to reduce it. Below are some excerpts
from various researchers utilizing different engines and blends of BD
products.....

4. "There are reliable, proven methods for baselining or even
reducing Nitrous Oxides (NOx) produced when using biodiesel. I have
certified emissions for the urban bus retrofit program with EPA (US
Environmental Protection Agency) using this technology. This package
included use of an oxidation catalyst to maximize Particulate Matter
(PM) reductions (taking advantage of the high soluble organic fraction
of biodiesel) and a timing change to give up some PM reductions while
reducing NOx to baseline or even past baseline -- the best case was a
28% NOx reduction with a 25% PM reduction." -- (From a personal
communication, Ming Tseng, Aiko Associates LLC, USA, biodiesel
suppliers)

Not even the researchers all agree on the best approach, but
several items stand out. A combination of B100 (pure BD), cooled EGR
(exhaust gas recirculation-cooled before reintroduction into the
combustion chamber) and Catalytic convertor to reduce PM (particulate
matter-or "smoke") provides the seemingly best alternatives.

Questions and Answers- the short form.....

Q What do I have to do to try this fuel out?
A Buy some and pump it in your tank- as long as it is above 50 degrees ambient outside temperature.

Q Is this fuel subject to road use taxes?
A Probably, each state is different. Some states do not even recognize BD as a fuel. You must check it out yourself.

Q. Will I void my engine warrenty by using this fuel?
A This is a vague area. In my opinion, because the fuel acts as
commercial #2 diesel-you should have no problems related to injector
pumps or injectors as you would with "approved" low sulphur fuels.
HOWEVER, no engine manufacturer has currently approved biodiesel for
use in their engines.

Q Is this fuel like "gasohol"?
A Emphatically, NO! Biodiesel is NOT distilled and home manufacture
does NOT come under the jurisdiction of the ATF, like alcohol
production does.

Q Have you tried this fuel?
A Yes, I made 150 gallons of it. My
motor home converted bus (which has a Detroit Diesel 8v71 in it) was a
demonstration vehicle for the Southwest Ohio Transit Authority when it
was new and was only fed a diet of B100 biodiesel.

Q Does it really smell like french fries?
A Actually, yes (if you start with used fry oil for the process).

Q How much does it cost to make?
A Depending on the cost of the ingredients, I have made a batch as low
as $2.15USD/gal and as high (purchased a 5 gal can of commercial BD
B100) at $5.50USD/gal.

There
are many different ways to make this fuel, but all involve potentially
dangerous chemical handling. Neither Allpar, its affilliates, nor
Robert W. (Bob) Sheaves accept any responsibility for the use of any
information contained in this article. This information is supplied for
educational purposes only. Readers are advised to seek competent
assistance BEFORE attempting to utilize this information in any way.

Best regards,

Bob Sheaves

Updates and additions

Biodiesel standards have been approved by the EPA, DOT, IRS (for
taxes), TAACOM, and other agencies, as well as the 50 states in the US, as of 2001.
Issues regarding the pour point have been solved
by the use of viscosity modifier long chain chemicals, as is done
with multi-viscosity oils. Combined with cooled EGR and/or particulate trap convertors,
any diesel currently made worldwide will now pass the emissions regs
through out the US.

(From information
sent by Doug Hetrick): A report from the National Resources
Defense Council showed that America can produce 25 percent of its
transportation fuel needs from agricultural crop wastes -- utilizing
new processes developed by the biotechnology industry -- while reducing
carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. The report contends that use
of cellulosic biofuels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.7
billion tons per year.

Biodiesel is now sold at over 1,600 stations in Germany, which can produce over 1 million tons of the fuel each year.
Economic advantages include reduction of trade deficits
and a boom in agriculture. This preserves open land by keeping farming
viable. In Germany, planting for biodiesel has increased from 500,000
hectares to 840,000 hectares within the past five years. FAL and Volkswagen developed a fuel
sensor which can tell the difference between biodiesel and standard
diesel, and change engine timing to take advantage of the blend.

Circle Biodiesel & Ethanol Corporation is a biofuel company which manufactures biodiesel plants and biodiesel processors for making biodiesel fuel, as well as manufacturing ethanol plants and ethanol stills for making ethanol fuel.